"I'm sorry. She says she doesn't know him," the doorman said to me even though Sydney was standing right next to us.
"Can we check the next building?" Sydney asked.
"Of course," I said, upbeat even though I was getting cold and had a feeling this was going to take a lot longer than I had suspected it might. Not that I had to get back to work or wouldn't have done everything in my power to help him regardless of how long it took, it's just that I didn't want to catch a cold. I get a chill easily and then am out of commission for a day or two and that I couldn't afford
I walked quickly to the next apartment building which was a hundred feet up the street. I asked the door man there if a Florence Gold lived in the building and he told me what he had told Sydney when he was there a few minutes earlier. "No."
"I can't believe this! Who doesn't have a phone book! This is ridiculous!" Sydney yelled.
I was getting concerned that he was completely lost and thought of calling the police to help him find his way home.
"Where's you car? Why don't I walk you to it and then you can drive home and get her telephone number and call her and get her address."
"NO! She'll be gone in twenty minutes!"
"Well it seems like it's going to take us twenty minutes to find her anyway. I think you should just drive home and call her."
"NO!" His face balled up again like he was going to cry.
"This is outrageous!"
"I know it's frustrating."
"Have we checked that building?" He pointed to another tall apartment building a hundred yards further up the street.
"No. Come on. Let's check. I'll run on up ahead." I did. Again there was no Florence Gold and again the doorman told me the old man had been there asking earlier. I ran back to Sydney.
"She's not there."
"What about that building?" Sydney pointed to one up the hill from where we were standing on another street. That would open a whole new group of buildings up to us but we had finished all the buildings on my street.
"Let's look." I was losing hope at this point but figured I'd take one last shot before making him take me to his car. I sprinted up the hill, wrapping myself with my arms like a blanket for warmth. Sydney marched slowly behind me. I entered the building and said, "Does Florence Gold live here?" and started to leave before hearing the answer I knew was coming. "Yeah."
"What? She does?"
"Yeah," the young Puerto Rican doorman said nonchalantly as if he had no idea I had been searching for her for half an hour.
"Florence Gold. An elderly lady?"
"Yes."
Beside myself with joy, I flew out of the lobby to find Sydney slowly making his way up the front walkway that led to the building. I raised my arms in victory like we had won the Super Bowl.
"Florence Gold baby!!! Florence Gold!!!"
He was nonplussed.
"What?"
"This is the building."
"I told you!" It was my fault apparently.
"Take care."
"Okay." He passed me and entered the building.
"Tell Florence to put her name and number in the phone book."
He was ignoring me now and only cared about the doorman.
"What apartment is Florence Gold in?"
"7F" And he disappeared into the elevator and was gone.
I ran home past the four buildings I had passed during our search and like Santa Claus trumpeted the good news to one and all.
"It was that one." And I pointed to the building that ended up being her home. No one seemed as excited as I was that Sydney Hirschhorn had found Florence Gold. I yelled to the last doorman as I passed, "We're all going to be old one day," and was surprised by the crack in my voice and tears that flooded my eyes. I ran up my stairs and into my warm apartment.
I had caught a cold. I could feel it.
I tried to make sense of what had just happened. I know it might not seem like a big deal but when it was happening it was like I was in a movie. A very scary one. Sydney Hirschhorn was me, my father, my grandfather and my son... and then I realized, he was also Herb. And then the God moment happened.
If I hadn't have gone downstairs to see if the Fed Ex man was indeed a Fed Ex man and not a robber-if the Fed Ex man hadn't been lost- then I never would have met Sydney Hirschhorn. Would he have died if I didn't help him find Florence Gold? Probably not, but who knows what would have been his fate. Who knows what would have happened to Florence Gold had Sydney Hirschhorn not seen her that day. Maybe that would be the last time they'd see each other if one of them was going to die soon. And if he hadn't have made it over there that day he wouldn't have gotten to say good bye. Was that God? Is that God?
I met a girl online who doesn't believe in God and builds robots for a living. We couldn't communicate and always fought. For three days on the phone we fought even though we never had met.
We both wanted love. But I'm not a robot... and I believe in God. Thanks Mr.Hirschhorn. God.
Posted by Eric Schaeffer at 12:57 PM